The Gift of Hope
by VampireDreamer93
Summary: Max will do whatever it takes to save the people she cares about, even if she can't always save herself. But what happens when Max finds the hope that she thought she lost? Can she find a way to back to happiness or will the School win again?
1. Chapter 1

**If you're reading this, thank you. I've been a reader on fanfiction for about ten years but have never been the one to write the stories. Don't get me wrong, I daydream about them all the time but have never tested my ability to put thought to words like this.**

 **I ask only one thing. After you read this, please leave me a review. Not so I can feel good about myself for having x amount of reviews but because I want to grow and learn in this process. If I leave something too vague, if I waste too many words on a topic, if it's just kind of sucky (or not), please share that with me. I want to make this something I can be proud of and something that you want to read.**

 **I am not James Patterson; I do not own Maximum Ride. I am just a dreamer.**

* * *

PROLOGUE

MAX P.O.V.

 _My flock, my family,_

 _We've spent too much time running. This was never how any of our lives were meant to be. I wake up each morning and try to make each and every one of you as happy as I possibly can, but I know that it is a wasted effort when at the end of the day we still have no home and fresh injuries. I will not allow this to continue._

 _Last night while everyone was sleeping and I was on watch, I heard a van driving toward us in the distance. We all know who the van belonged to. I flew toward them and, before they could attack, I offered them a deal. Now, before you overreact, I want you to consider this from my perspective._  
 _I made a promise to you guys long ago that I would always do everything in my power to protect you. That's no longer enough for me. I don't want you to just be protected. I want you to be happy, to be healthy. I want you to live your lives without constantly looking over your shoulder, without fear._

 _The deal is this. I'm going with them in exchange for a promise of your safety. They will leave you be on the condition that you don't come after me. I know that won't be easy for you; that's why I didn't wait until you were awake to say goodbye. They have assured me that we are going to a branch of the School that we have never been to before, so there really is no point in trying to find me._

 _Find Dr. Martinez, she'll help you._

 _Do not blame yourselves for this; it was my choice and mine alone. Go live your lives. Be happy. Remember me in our good times. Remember me happy. Live for me. I love you all._

 _Fly on,_

 _Maximum Ride_

* * *

CHAPTER 1

MAX P.O.V.

Some say Hell is filled with fire. I say they are wrong. Hell is unbearably white. White floors, white walls, white coats. How do I know? Well, Hell is my new permanent residence. I walked right up to the School's doors, looked the devil in the eyes and marched myself inside.

It's impossible to tell how much time has passed. There are no windows. It could be day or night and I wouldn't know. Not that it matters.

The way it usually goes is like this. I wait it my cage until a white coat comes to get me. They run tests, draw blood, inject me with God knows what, make me do various courses, and send me back to my cage. I don't fight them. I knew what I was getting myself into.

It feels like it's probably been a few weeks. Could be more, could be less. When I first got here, they had guards around me at all times. I was in a crate in an otherwise empty room. There were guards next to my cell and outside of the door of the room. Recently, they have decreased my security, probably because I'm not running or fighting. If I'm being totally honest, I feel like my life no longer has meaning. No more sarcastic remarks, no more fire in my spirit, no more purpose. I used to spend all of my time protecting the flock but now...now I just exist.

"Maximum, it's time to go to the lab. Someone wants to talk to you." A white coat. I hadn't even noticed her come inside.

A guard unlocked my crate, yanked me out, and said to the white coat "I'll bring it to the lab."

"That's not necessary. I've got it from here."

Reluctantly, the guard released me and I rubbed my arm where his hold had been so tight. Once we were out of the guard's earshot I said "I'm not sure why you did it, but thanks, I guess."

She stopped walking and turned to look at me. "Are you a threat to me?" she asked.

"No point," I replied. To this she just smiled and continued walking.

Upon arriving to the lab I noticed an older man in a suit and tie. I recognized him as being the director of this particular branch of the School, but what could he want?

As I got closer, he looked up from the file he was reading and motioned me toward a chair. "Maximum Ride... I have been reviewing your file. You used to have so much spunk and that seems to have pushed you during your previous years of tests here. Lately, your tests are much less impressive. It seems you have given up. I can not allow that." He paused and I noticed his temper starting to rise. "I need results!" he shouted. "You are my prized possession here at the School and I'd like to keep it that way. We're going to make a few changes to see if we can liven you up a little. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice." With that, he left. I wonder what they plan on changing. It's not like it will do any good. I can't leave because of our deal and they can't force me to be excited to be here. What more could they want from me?

* * *

DIRECTOR P.O.V.

"Do you really think that this will work, sir? Do you really think that this will force her to perform at an optimal level during her tests?" Incompetent lab technicians. Always asking questions. I know what I'm doing.

"I do. She needs to want to leave here. She needs to try. I've talked with Jeb, he said that she needs a purpose and then she will give us better results. If we do as Jeb suggested, she will eventually try to escape, we'll catch her on the way out and then I will have what I want. Jeb knows her better than any of us. I'm trusting him to not let me down."

"What if it doesn't work, sir?"

"IF it doesn't work... well, then I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands."

"You mean Plan B, sir? But Jeb said your Plan B was strictly forbidden. He said it could kill her."

"We'll do it Jeb's way for now but Plan B is going to happen sooner or later," I replied. "It's just a matter of when."


	2. Chapter 2

MAX P.O.V.

I woke up to the sound of a small voice but my head was so foggy that I couldn't quite make out the words. I tried to open my eyes but I was not yet aware enough to have control over my body. I began to get a little worried. What happened? Where was I? And who was that talking coming from..? Think, Max. What's the last thing you remember?

I remember talking to the school's director and I remember him walking out of the room, but after that...nothing. Come on, Max. Think harder. When he walked out of the room, I heard the nice lady shuffling towards me. I remember a sharp pain in my arm, but I've had so many needle pricks here and I was still contemplating what the director had said that I thought nothing of the pain. She must have injected me with something to make me lose consciousness. But why? I've gone everywhere they have sent me and done everything they have asked. Why drug me? Unless I'm not supposed to know how to get where I am.

Okay Max! Focus, focus. Wake up and figure out who is in the room with you. Slowly, my eyelids began to flutter and when they finally opened all the way, two faces were looming over me. But they weren't nearly old enough to be white coats. Quickly I scrambled backwards to put a little space between us.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Where am I?"

There were two boys in the room with me. The older one appeared to be around my age. He has dark hair, kind green eyes, and is on the muscular size. The younger boy looked to be around seven. His hair is a darker blonde and he's got the bluest of blue eyes that I think I've ever seen.

The older boy answered first. "My name is Phoenix. This little man is Jamie. And we don't know where we are either. One minute we're in our cages, the next we're in here with you."

I sat back against the wall and closed my eyes. "Well I'm sure it won't be long now until they come back to run more tests. Maybe we'll find out then."

His once comforting facial features morphed into a look of shock. "I have no intention of waiting around here long enough to find out. I won't let them do any more tests on us, especially not on Jamie. I'm working on a plan to bust us out of here. What about you, what's your name?"

"Max. Maximum Ride."

"Woah, wait a minute!" he replied. His sudden excitement caused me to open my eyes again to see what all the drama was about. "Maximum Ride? Like, THE Maximum Ride? I've overheard rumors about you from eavesdropping on the whitecoats' gossip, but I never dreamed you really existed. They say you've escaped their grasp more times than they can count! You can help us get out of here!"

"That's me. Maximum Ride. The one and only."

"So then you'll help us get out of here?"

"I didn't say that. I'm not going anywhere. I can't."

The little boy, Jamie, who had yet to say a word, walked slowly up to my side. In a very small voice he said "Please, Max. I don't want to die in here." Way deep down I guess I've always been kind of a sap. I just can't resist helping others who can't help themselves. So, what can I say? I agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

MAX P.O.V.

I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm going to anyways. I said that I would help Phoenix and Jamie escape, but I never said that I was leaving. I made a deal, remember? If I leave, then it's back to running for my family. Not going to happen.

As it turns out, Phoenix is incredibly easy to talk to. Not that there was anything better to do in our tiny, empty, boring, white room. But even if there was, I have a feeling I would still be sitting here in a corner on the floor talking to him. We talked about almost everything. I told him about my life – basically everything that you already know about me. Partly, I told him everything because I hoped that one day when he was out of the school maybe, just maybe, he would tell my story and the flock would catch wind of it and would know just how much I love them. And partly, I told him everything because for some unknown reason I wanted him to know. The only thing I didn't share was the deal that I made with the school to save my family. I had a feeling that if Phoenix knew that I was here of my own will that he would fight tooth and nail to try to convince me to leave with them. So, I left him under the impression that I was going to escape with them. I wish that I was.

Here's what I learned. The whitecoats wanted to try mutating human-avian babies in a more natural setting rather than being test tube babies. They wanted to see if the rate at which a mutant develops their unique "gifts" would differ than being in the lab. So, Phoenix was born in the human world and allowed to stay in his mother's home with her until he was four. Initially, she had agreed that they could run their tests on him so long as they didn't injure him and that they would always return him home. Later, when she realized that their tests were only going to get worse, his mother tried to run with him. They took him away, killed her, and brought him to the school. Oh, and his real name is Jeremy, but he started going by Phoenix when his powers arrived. He can control fire, which sounds cool and all, but you should have seen his wings. His wings are pure white and when he's on fire – let's just say that I was so in awe that my jaw may have dropped quite a bit – his wings were on fire too.

Jamie, on the other hand, had never seen the outside of the school. When he was born, he was just an experiment number. When he was old enough to be on his own, his cage sat right next to Phoenix's. Phoenix is the one who named him. He said he chose the name Jamie because one day he would get them out of here and try to give Jamie a shot at a normal life. And the first step to a normal life, is a normal name. Jamie also has wings but his are a light brown with flecks of dark brown. His power will help him in the "normal" life because he can create illusions in a person's mind. When he prevents you from seeing his wings, he looks just like any other child.

We've been trying to formulate the beginnings of a plan for their escape, but without knowing where we are we don't know what we're up against. The plan so far is to wait until the whitecoats take one of us out of this room again and try to map out our location; that's all that we can do for now.

Finally, after hours of waiting, the nice whitecoat lady came to take me to a testing lab. I went through all the usual trials and when we headed back to my room I tried to remember as many hallways as I could. But the strange part didn't happen until we were right outside of my door. She slipped me a piece of paper. I eyed her warily, but before I could say anything she gave me a slight shake of her head.

Upon entering the room, I walked back over to my usual corner and sunk down on the wall. Phoenix came over to sit next to me and Jamie beside him.

"Is that a note?" asked Jamie.

"What does it say" asked Phoenix.

Slowly, I unfolded the paper and felt a jolt of surprise run through me.


End file.
